VW Group e-component supplier adds French investor and ex-Lotus boss to board

MILAN -- French asset management firm Tikehau Capital has taken a 30 percent stake in Euro Group Laminations, which counts Volkswagen and Porsche as customers for its electric motor components.

The companies did not reveal the value of the investment, however, Italian financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore, without naming its sources, said the transaction was worth about 50 million euros.

As part of the deal, Tikehau gets two Euro Group board seats, one of which will go to longtime industry executive Jean-Marc Gales.

Gales, 57, stepped down as Lotus CEO in June 2018. He has also held top jobs as Mercedes-Benz and PSA Group.

Euro Group will use the fresh money to support growth of its core business, which is supplying rotors and stators used in electric motors. Along with VW Group, Euro Group supplies e-motor parts to Tier 1 suppliers such as Robert Bosch and Valeo Siemens eAutomotive.

The Italian company, which is based in Baranzate, near Milan, last year reported revenue of 404 million euros, a number it aims to match this year despite challenges caused by the coronavirus crisis.

The automotive industry accounted for 35 percent of Euro Group's 2019 sales, however, that percentage is forecast to grow to 55 percent by 2025, CEO Marco Arduini told Automotive News Europe.

Arduini estimates that the value of the global stators and rotors market is 12 billion euros a year. He said that number will increase by 3 billion euros by 2025 because of growing demand for electric motors that provide traction.

Euro Group employs 2,000 people, of which half work at the company's seven plants in Italy. The supplier also has five factories outside Europe. The company is majority controlled by an family-owed Italian group led by Chairman Sergio Iori.